2023 marks the 170th anniversary of the birth of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), one of the world’s most famous and most admired painters. It also marks the founding anniversary of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, which opened 50 years ago and houses the world’s largest collection of works by Dutch artists. Few people know, however, that 140 years ago he spent three months in the province of Drenthe, awakening his passion for painting and the art world in general.
To mark this occasion, the state announced Launched a seven-story-tall Van Gogh mural, three Van Gogh Drenthe cycling routes, and declared the current year the year of Van Gogh.
Van Gogh in Drenthe
In September 1883 Van Gogh came to Drenthe on the advice of an artist friend. After a variety of jobs, he decided to become a painter and sought inspiration from the desolate, rugged landscapes and the peat workers of Drenthe. He arrived in Hoogeveen by train from The Hague on 11 September 1883 and lived in a guest house there for about two weeks.
He took a canal boat to Nieuw Amsterdam, where from the 2nd of October he stayed in a small room. Here he created Drenthe Landscape, one of his most impressive and beautiful works currently exhibited in Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum.
He wrote over 23 letters to his brother Theo in Paris. The letters contain a wealth of anecdotes and impressions of Drenthe landscapes and farm life.
On 4 December he returned to Hoogeveen, from where he took a train to his family home, Nuenen.
honor a great artist
A mural commemorating Van Gogh’s stay in Drenthe was painted in Hoogeveen’s apartment. A former grain silo just a stone’s throw from Van Gogh Haus Drenthe, there are plans to unveil something even bigger in Nieuw Amsterdam.
The new cycling routes are about 50 km each and circle Hoogeveen, Zwielow and Nieuw Amsterdam. Each cycling course has so-called ‘see-through panels’ that allow you to see through Van Gogh’s eyes the pristine landscapes that inspired him. A letter Van Gogh wrote at the time is the basis for the audio his story accessible via a QR code.
https://northerntimes.nl/drenthe-declares-2023-the-year-of-van-gogh/ Drenthe declares 2023 the year of Van Gogh – Northern Times